Kathy Willens/Associated PressHenrik Lundqvist was key for the Rangers in Game 4 win

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Standing at a dais in the press room at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, New York Rangers coach Alain Vigneault suggested divine forces may have been at work in his team’s desperate 2-1 Game 4 Stanley Cup Final victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

“I’ve been in the game a long time to know that sometimes the hockey gods are there,” Vigneault said, per theScore.com. “They were there tonight.”

Vigneault was probably referencing two instances in which the Kings slotted the puck past Rangers goalkeeper Henrik Lundqvist only to have it halt on the line.

One such instance came in the first period when Anton Stralman angled the puck away with his stick, and the other in the closing moments of the contest—the puck nestling and stopping in a small conclave of snow before Derek Stepan swatted it under Lundqvist.

Quick—one of the more renowned keepers in the league and recipient of the William M. Jennings Trophy—shut out and demoralized New York in Game 3. But the Rangers appear to have found his weak spot.

Henrik Lundqvist

Divine intervention aside, Lundqvist still stopped a staggering 40 shots in Game 4. The Kings pelted Lundqvist with shot after shot in the final period, but ultimately none of the 15 slipped past him.

The Rangers leaned on Lundqvist—the team's unquestioned leader—with their season on the line, and he didn’t falter. That has been a trend for the Sweden native this postseason—he is 5-0 in elimination games while not allowing more than one goal in such contests.

Desperation

Luck had not been on the Rangers’ side in the first three games of this series. After losing the first two contests in overtime, they dropped an embarrassing 3-0 contest on their home ice in Game 3.

New York was clearly not ready to accept the end of their season in Game 4, and they came out with a distinct sense of desperation. They played physically, aggressively and were not afraid to sacrifice their bodies, leading the Kings in hits (32-27) and blocked shots (20-15).